He leaves five minutes early, just like always. He arrives five minutes early, too. An almost proverbial beat of his wings takes him to empty hallway around the corner from Allison’s place. The flat’s doors are decked out in festive decorations — most of them, at least. The few without ornaments stuck to their surfaces stick out all the more so. He spares them no second thought and puts Pip down on the floor, leash already attached to the harness hugging the dog’s torso. Kane steps around the corner and towards Allison’s door without further consideration, and it’s that exact lack of forethought that also stops him dead in his tracks.
His eyes narrow with suspicion as he gives the man at her door a quick once-over, followed by a slower one. He’s grinning — she’s smiling, leaning against the doorpost. Whilst cemented to floor at a solid ten metres off, Kane ignores Pip’s pulling in favour of keeping his distance and quietly observing ( and stewing in his distaste ). He would’ve succeeded for a while longer, too, if not for a sudden bark erupting from the dog. Bloody Beagles.
Kane doesn’t need to look to know the stranger’s and Allison’s gaze alike snap to him without delay. His eyes squeeze shut in exasperation for a second or two, before he decides to resist discomfort and lifts both his hand and gaze in greeting. A particularly sardonic, insincere smile’s thrown to the stranger. To further highlight his lack of intent to introduce himself to the intruder, though, he stays right where he is — at a distance, now visibly waiting for the guy to fuck off.
HER NEIGHBOR IS A SAINT. saint-like, at the very least. all he knows is that her work requires her to travel quite a bit. he knows about the firearms & otherwise he’s curious, but definitely not pushy & more than happy to help her out by watching bo when she’s not around, as he mostly works from home and has a dog of his own. the pups get along just fine & she’s more than grateful for this little arrangement they ended up having. it’s more than convenient & bo adores him, which works out great ----- she got home late last night. she decided to wait until morning to get her pet off his hands, but he ended up thinking ahead of her & bringing him over right after his morning walk. she was still feeling tired after the hunt, so she gave him a weary smile & an arm squeeze, sincere thank you on her lips as bo wagged his tail. both hands are in his fur as the two of them exchange some small talk, a recent squirrel incident drawing a laugh out of her ----- & then she hears it.
her eyes snap in kane’s direction, incredibly confused until she catches sight of bo’s soon to be play date. she’s suddenly amused, noticing kane’s obvious refusal to budge from his spot in the presence of the apparent stranger chatting her up by the door. TYPICAL STUBBORNESS. & maybe a touch of embarrassment. she gets it. so she clears her throat & quickly explains the situation to evan, who goes on to purse his lips & politely greet kane before rushing a quick bye in her direction & walking off, two apartments over. “ hi to you, too, pip. ” dimpled smile is offered to the beagle before she folds her arms & looks up at his owner. “ you’re early. & standing by the wrong door, come here. ”